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challenge. During the grinding phase, the machine applies substantial cutting forces to material that must not be damaged, deformed, or compromised in any way. The grinding heads must move with micrometric precision under dynamic loading conditions, maintaining consistent positioning throughout a phase that lasts just one second per cycle. Across a full production shift, the cumulative mechanical demands on the components supporting that motion are considerable.
THE ROLLON NADELLA AX NEEDLE THRUST BEARING SOLUTION Accuracy is pivotal. But any component within the machine also needs to be able to handle heavy loads and strong acceleration forces. To meet these demands, VDW integrated Rollon Nadella AX needle thrust bearings into its machine design - eight per machine, positioned to support the movement of the grinding heads during the machining phase. The selection reflects the specific engineering requirements of the application: high axial load capacity, sustained accuracy under dynamic loading, compactness and long-term reliability in continuous production. The AX bearing achieves this through a design in which the rolling elements are retained and guided in radial pockets within the cage, with the cage itself secured relative to the plate via a steel ring. This configuration delivers the axial load capacity required to handle the forces generated during grinding, while the guided retention of the rolling elements maintains the accuracy of motion that the process demands. Critically, the assembly achieves all of this within a minimal footprint, which is an important consideration in compact machine architectures where space constraints are significant. Stephan Schott, industry manager Medical at Rollon, explains: “The AX needle thrust bearing from the Rollon Nadella range was chosen for its high accuracy. The assembly provides high axial load capacity while occupying minimal space, making it well suited to compact machine architectures.”
The bearing’s performance under repetitive high- speed cycling is equally important. With the grinding phase lasting just one second per component, the bearing operates in conditions of constant, rapid, reversing motion - a regime that places particular demands on rolling element retention and cage integrity. Performance degradation under these conditions is not acceptable; any inconsistency in motion at this stage translates directly into dimensional variation in the finished component. Schott continues: “In applications like this, the component is not a passive element in the machine - it is an active contributor to accuracy. The bearing does not simply support the grinding head; it defines the envelope within which precision is achievable. That is why the engineering of the component itself matters as much as the engineering of the process around it.”
THE VALUE OF LONG-TERM COLLABORATION IN A REGULATED INDUSTRY
Stephan Schott, industry manager for Medical at Rollon
Instrumentation Monthly June 2026
One aspect of the VDW and Rollon Nadella relationship that deserves particular attention is its duration. The current collaboration on the active machine design dates to 2001 - Nadella components were already integrated into predecessor machines built in 1986, at least one of which remains in production today. This is not a relationship defined by periodic re-specification and competitive tendering; it is a long-standing engineering partnership in which component performance has been validated across successive machine generations. In regulated industries such as medical device manufacturing, this kind of continuity has practical as well as commercial value. Production consistency must be demonstrable over time, and changes to machine components carry qualification and validation implications. The ability to work with a supplier whose components have an established, documented performance history within a specific machine architecture reduces risk and supports the kind of continuous improvement that medical manufacturers need to pursue without disrupting qualified production processes.
IMPLICATIONS FOR MEDICAL MANUFACTURING MORE BROADLY The dynamics in this case study, the convergence of speed, precision, load capacity, and long- term reliability within an increasingly compact and regulated production environment, are not specific to dental instrument manufacturing. They reflect a broader trajectory across medical device production, driven by the increasing complexity of devices, the expansion of automated manufacturing processes, and the tightening of the regulatory environment in which those processes must operate. Schott adds: “For instrumentation and manufacturing engineers working across the sector, this trajectory has a clear implication: the performance ceiling of a manufacturing machine is increasingly set at component level. Process optimisation, control system design, and machine architecture all matter, but if the motion components within the machine cannot sustain the required accuracy under the loads and speeds the process demands, the machine will not perform to specification consistently over time. “This places a premium on component engineering that goes beyond standard catalogue selection. It requires suppliers who understand the specific demands of medical manufacturing environments: the regulatory context, the qualification requirements, the need for long-term supply security, and the value of engineering support that extends across the lifetime of a machine.
As device complexity continues to increase and performance expectations continue to rise, the component suppliers who can deliver at this level will play an increasingly central role in determining what medical manufacturing can achieve. Precision, in this context, is not only a product specification. It is an engineering discipline - one that begins at component level and shapes everything built around it.
Rollon
www.rollon.com/gbr/en 15
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